A Journey Through Emotions
I have just returned from a journey through emotions as my daughter, Diena Thompson and I, flew from Jacksonville, FL, to Lubbock, TX, to award two financial grants to the custodial parents of missing children. One was a grieving parent whose daughter’s body was recovered the day before our trip started and the other was awarded to a mother who is still seeking information about her daughter who has now been missing for over a month.
I would like to thank the people who made this emotional trip possible. Since we are a small foundation, we lobbied board member and friend, Bobby Ingram of Molly Hatchet, to donate frequent flier miles to make the roundtrip from Jacksonville to Lubbock and Bobby graciously obliged. Thanks to all who volunteered and donated to my cause and a special Thank You to Donald Trump for his donation that was a huge part of making these two grants possible.
With the help of Pete Kampfer, City Manager, Colorado City, TX, we were provided with free lodging at The Western Suites Hotel in Colorado City, TX. A big thanks to Cristie Roye, manager at the Western Suites Hotel. We originally planned to spend two nights at the hotel but, due to the development in the Elizabeth Ennen case, we were required to leave the comfort of the Western Suites Hotel to return to Lubbock, TX. The manager of the Holiday Inn Park Plaza, Lubbock, TX, without thinking twice, gave us free lodging for the night in Lubbock, TX. That’s a lot of support for a two person, two day trip and thank you doesn’t seem to be good enough, but, Thank You to everyone.
January 25, 2011
Our trip started with a 4:30 A.M. wakeup to get ready to drive to the airport to present a financial grant to Billie Dunn whose daughter, Hailey Dunn, disappeared on 12/27/10 from a small west Texas town of Colorado City, TX, population of less than 5000 residents. I started the day by checking the internet for any new developments in the case, but, instead stumbled upon a posting regarding the recovery of a young girls’ body in Lubbock, TX. The remains were thought to be those of Elizabeth Ennen who was reported missing on 1/5/11. Subsequent investigation determined that the remains were indeed those of Elizabeth Ennen.
While enroute from Jacksonville to Lubbock, we tasked board members with investigating the details of the disappearance of Elizabeth Ennen to determine if her mother, Virginia Ennen would also be a candidate for a financial grant. That was accomplished and the board of The Somer Thompson Foundation was again unanimous in approving a second grant.
Time was now even more precious, so Diena made arrangements to meet with Billie Dunn on the evening of our arrival in Colorado City, TX. Since Billie Dunn had no transportation available, we met her at her modest home in Colorado City where I watched my daughter relive the early days of Somer’s disappearance and offer emotional support to Billie. That was, next to losing Somer, one of the most emotional days of my life. Billie was thankful for the emotional support and financial assistance. If I had to guess, I suspect that the presence of Diena, a mother who went through the same tragedy of having a missing child was appreciated as much, if not more than the financial aspect of our visit.
January 26, 2011
Day two of the trip started with a meeting with City Manager Pete Kampfer to thank him for his assistance in the case and to provide contact information for updates on this case. Pete then made calls to the local newspaper, The Colorado City Record, a weekly publication, and set up a meeting with the Editor, Carol Parsons, who came to interview Diena at a local diner. The emotional trip started all over as Ms Parsons asked Diena about The Somer Thompson Foundation and for personal insights on having a missing child.
After the interview, we stopped at the local middle school to purchase a T-shirt they are selling to help support the mother during this trying time. The principal queried Diena about her thoughts of how to protect our children and what they should be doing to stop this epidemic of people taking our children. Diena offered her views and we proceeded back to the Western Suites Hotel where Diena had a scheduled interview with KTAB out of Abilene, TX.
During the two hour drive back to Lubbock, TX, Diena contacted the Lubbock Police Department and the family of Elizabeth Ennen to try to schedule a meeting with Virginia Ennen to provide Virginia condolences and emotional support. Virginia was busy that day making funeral arrangements for her daughter, Elizabeth. Again, this brought back the emotions of the awful day that we had to do the same for our Angel, Somer. Diena was able to speak with Virginia Ennen’s sister and they agreed to meet with Diena and me. The same scene unfolded for a second time in two days. Virginia spoke very little but I could see the anguish of a mother in distress over the loss of her daughter. The feeling again was, even though Virginia Ennen needed financial assistance in this trying time that the emotional assistance meant more to her at this stage and being concerned about the bills.
The meeting with Virginia was followed by a remote interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell and a brief interview with the local Fox affiliate, KJTV, in Lubbock, TX, before heading back to our hotel where we met with the lead detective and his wife for the next couple of hours. We then retired to our room to prepare for our 4:00 A.M. wakeup to catch our flight back to Jacksonville.
January 27, 2011
Emotionally drained from the two day trip, we caught our 5:50 A.M. flight out of Lubbock, TX. We chatted with people at the airports and on the flights both ways about the Foundation and our mission and, I believe we made a lot of friends along the way. When not otherwise engaged, we discussed our trip and tried to understand why there has to be an organization such as The Somer Thompson Foundation. We hope we helped two distraught mothers and pray that we, through the Foundation, can make a difference in stopping the violence against our children. We realize that this is going to be a long journey. We know that we cannot do it alone and we ask for everyone’s continued support for The Somer Thompson Foundation so that we can move forward in our quest to try to stop those who would hurt our children and to help those in need as we move forward in this emotional journey.
Phillip D. Bowling
VP, The Somer Thompson Foundation (but more importantly, Somer Thompson’s Poppa)
I would like to add that, although I know I can’t do this alone, one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Visiting with these two mothers was emotionally draining but I would like to believe that I made a difference for them and hope to be there for them as they travel through their own emotional journey. Thank You to everyone who made this trip a possibility. I have no plans of giving up or letting you, or my baby Somer, down. God bless.
Diena Thompson
President, The Somer Thompson Foundation (but more importantly, Somer’s mom)
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